Efficiency of Marketing

During every consultation I have with a client or potential client there is always one specific topic that is guaranteed to come up… efficiency of marketing.

What these business owners have in common is that they all want to know, “Will all the time I spend doing internet marketing pay off?”  The honest answer is very simple. It may.. and it may not.

We’ve all heard the phrase there’s no such thing as bad PR, but the reality is there is bad advertising. Even a quick read of David Ogilvy’s “Ogilvy on Advertising” will highlight examples of advertising that actually UNsold a product. In a similar manner, a terrible website design can hurt your company image or at best turn out to be a complete waste of company resources that yielded no additional return.  This perspective shouldn’t come across as a surprise nor should it stifle creativity. If you’ve got something to say then say it. If you’ve got something to produce then produce it.

What I tell my clients during these consultations is that unlike advertising which can be hit or miss, internet marketing does promise a certain level of control.  What it comes down to is efficiency of marketing. If you spend 90 minutes writing a blog then make sure each of those 90 minutes is spend in the most efficient way possible. Make sure your internet marketing strategy and tools give you the best opportunity for success.

Above: 311′s “Confusing Use of Time”

Efficiency of Marketing Tip #1

Don’t do ANYTHING until you’ve done your research. Are you about to write a blog? Fantastic! Did you research which keyphrases are searched for the most? No? THEN STOP! Why would you spend the next 90 minutes writing a blog about a particular topic when before checking to see what the most common search phrases are for the topic you’re writing about.  When it comes to search phrases, small differences are big differences. You’d be surprised in the difference between a term like ‘photographY’ and ‘photographER’.

Efficiency of Marketing Tip #2

Optimize, optimize, then optimize some more. On-page SEO factors are completely in your control. There is NO excuse for poorly optimized content whether it’s for a webpage, blog article, or youtube video. Once you learn how to optimize content it should come naturally and require no additional time.

Efficiency of Marketing Tip #3

Make your content interesting! Does it really take much more time to write an interesting piece of content over something that’s bland and newspaper like? Are a the few extra minutes it may require of you to post a few images or embed a video clip really going to drain you? I don’t think so.

Efficiency of Marketing Tip #4

Less is more. That’s right, I’m actually suggesting writing less per article or shooting less per video. Simple, effective advertising always won out and so will short and to-the-point web content. You’ve captured a lead… the clock is ticking… now get your point across ASAP.

Efficiency of Marketing Tip #5

Sharing is caring. If you don’t care enough about your internet content to share it with the world then why should I? Make sure you utilize social media outlets and social bookmarking tools to put forth a little bit of effort to share your content.

Identity Building Blog Takeaway on Efficiency of Marketing

Learn as much as you can about keyword research, search engine optimization, and social media. Then get good at simplifying your message for your audience. You know you’re going to spend a limited amount of time each day focused on your internet marketing strategy or you know your company only has so many resources in staff, so make sure you are being as efficient as possible.

If you would like to learn more about internet marketing contact us now and schedule your own personalized consultation with Frederick J. Findley III, owner of and consultant for FineLine Multimedia.